Sid Davidoff, New York government affairs icon, dies at 86

"Davidoff died at a hospital in the Dominican Republic, where he owned a home in the town of Punta Cana and was battling an infection while recovering from shoulder surgery, according to an article in City&State. Born in Brooklyn, Davidoff graduated from City College of New York in 1960. He earned his J.D. in 1963 and was admitted to the New York Bar that same year, marking the beginning of his influential career in political and government affairs."

"Davidoff made one of his first marks in local politics during the anti-war unrest of the 1960s. In 1968, he was instrumental in resolving a high-profile incident at Columbia University and is credited with negotiating the release of Dean Henry Coleman, who was being held captive inside the school's occupied Hamilton Hall. The historic incident was a flashpoint of the tumultuous era, indicative of the widespread anti-war and civil rights movements that defined the late 1960s in the United States."

"Davidoff is survived by his wife, Linda Stasi, a popular journalist, who told City&State that her husband was brilliantly smart and graduated law school at an earlier age than his peers, at the top of his class. He was a tough guy, a genuine New York character who was just the sweetest, kindest person in the world, she said. He was so kind to everyone and so generous to everyone, from his family to his friends to anybody that needed anything."

Sid Davidoff was a prominent New York City political operative and lawyer whose career spanned six decades, beginning in the administration of Mayor John Lindsay. He was born in Brooklyn, graduated City College of New York in 1960, received a J.D. in 1963 and joined the New York Bar that year. He played a key role in resolving the 1968 Columbia University occupation and negotiating the release of Dean Henry Coleman. He died at 86 in a Dominican Republic hospital while battling an infection after shoulder surgery. He is survived by his wife, Linda Stasi, and was widely known as a street-smart political savant with a generous personality.

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